City Of Lakewood Planted Hundreds Of Trees This Fall

The City’s Division of Streets and Forestry is putting down lots of roots in Lakewood — more than 210 trees this fall alone. “We are continuing to optimize Lakewood’s level of investment in trees,” said Chris Perry, the city’s public works unit manager, who oversees the forestry department. “This planting encompasses 18 different species, in an effort to increase the diversity of the city’s urban forest.”

At the conclusion of the fall planting season, the city will have planted 807 trees during the past two years to grow the next generation of trees while continuing to maintain the health and vigor of all trees in the Lakewood Urban Forest. 

The idea is to capture the long-term ecological, economic and social benefits — and improve public safety. Tree canopy provides many benefits to communities, improving water quality, reducing storm water runoff, saving energy, lowering city temperatures, reducing air pollution and increasing property values. “Species diversity is important so that the urban forest is resilient to insect and disease threats and the impacts of climate change,” added Perry. “Many pests and diseases attack a whole genus, so diversity is a must. Street monoculture has proven to be detrimental and will be avoided.”

As calculated by using formulas developed by the U.S. Forest Service related to carbon storage and sequestration, Lakewood’s existing 28.5 percent urban forest canopy cover stores 4,315 tons of carbon and sequesters nearly 45 tons of carbon each year.

Read More on City
Volume 11, Issue 24, Posted 3:38 PM, 11.24.2015